Student’s letter: “… so many people desperately in need of food”

| How to help | West Seattle schools

This came to us recently in our postal mailbox (address here, in case you ever need it). Though it was dated late March, a few weeks before we received it, the timing is still good because of the Feinstein Challenge, in which food-bank contributions through the end of this month are potentially worth more than face value. Anyway, we haven’t contacted the young sender so we’re omitting his surname and phone number … but his request is one that any of us can act on, at any time of the day or night:

Tracy Record, Co-Publisher/Editor
West Seattle Blog

Dear Ms. Record,

There are so many people desperately in need of food. I am Tyler … an 8th grader at Our Lady of Guadalupe School and I am trying to help the West Seattle Food Bank fight against hunger. Every week the West Seattle Food Bank gives food to five hundred hungry families. The people in need are single parents, the working poor, fixed-income seniors, and children. With the decline of the economy this horrible problem is growing right here in our West Seattle neighborhood.

Would you please inform your readers about the West Seattle Food Bank’s need for food and money donations? The West Seattle Food Bank needs canned protein items (tuna, peanut butter); baby food; formula and diapers; fresh produce; fresh milk, cheese and yogurt; and nutritional supplements, such as Ensure. Donated money helps the food bank with operating costs like insurance, rent and helps purchase bulk food items. People need to know how important it is to help their community and the people who live in it. If people are not informed about how important it is to donate food and money many will remain hungry. Please contact me if you have any questions. …

So please inform your readers about the West Seattle Food Bank’s mission to fight against hunger and how important it is to serve your community. The West Seattle Food Bank needs donations and only the community can supply them. If your readers donate food and money to the West Seattle Food Bank they will be helping the community, feeding those in need, and improving lives.

Thank you for your support,
Tyler (…)

And thank YOU, Tyler, for taking the time to write a letter about this. To donate online to West Seattle Food Bank, go here. Also note, May 1st is the WSFB fundraising gala Instruments of Change; ticket info here. Plus: The White Center Food Bank serves West Seattle south of Myrtle; you can donate online to WCFB, too, by going here.

datamuse April 21, 2009 (6:21 am)

I’ll mention again that both food banks arrange donations through Network for Good, which allows you to set up a recurring donation on a periodic basis. White Center Food Bank gets a donation from me every month.

Near Alki April 21, 2009 (7:57 am)

My wife and I tried to drop off food last week. It was pouring rain and we could not find any place to park the car. It would have taken more than one trip to and from the car to make the delivery. The garage adjacent to the food bank was not assessable. Does anybody have a suggestion?

Jane Taylor April 21, 2009 (8:05 am)

Way to go, Tyler! And a big thanks to Our Lady of Guadalupe, along with seven other West Seattle Churches for participating in Lettuce Pray, a program that mobilizes home gardeners through the churches to grow fresh produce for the White Center and West Seattle Food Banks. Looking for two more churches to participate this summer. Church members bring their fresh produce to church every Sunday during the harvest season and we pick it up and deliver it directly to the food banks. See http://www.gleanit.org for more info.

Sue April 21, 2009 (8:25 am)

Near Alki, if you go to this page on the WS Food Bank site – http://www.westseattlefoodbank.org/donate.asp – and look on the left side, there are locations of bins in local WS stores that you can drop food off at. We’ve dropped food off at the bins at Thriftway and PCC and find it easier with better hours than going to the food bank. Also, I believe they’ll also have a booth at the Sustainable West Seattle festival on 5/3 where you can also drop off food.

Near Alki April 21, 2009 (6:37 pm)

Sue, thanks. We are close to the PCC, so we will go there from now on.

Pete April 21, 2009 (9:16 pm)

What a great letter Tyler. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the West Seattle Food Bank thank you so much in helping us get the word out about our mission. The number of clients coming to our doors so far this year just keeps climbing. We will have a table at the Sustainable West Seattle festival on May 3rd and I am sorry that a donor had a problem getting a donation to us. If you will call the office in advance arrangements can be made to make sure you don’t have that problem in the future.
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Our Insturments of Change event is coming up soon and is filling up fast so if you have not acquired your tickets yet you still have time but you should hurry.
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We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the West Seattle community as a whole for your generous outpouring of support in these trying times as the demand for our services continues to climb.

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